'Revolutionary' Integrated Oil & Gas Information Platform to be Unveiled February 24 in Houston

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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--When investors and project developers in the oil & gas sector consider capital investments, they face a dizzying array of databases and market intelligence sources. Data and market information is fragmented and captured in different formats, forcing developers to build their own patchwork systems to integrate diverse streams of information. The challenge is particularly acute now, as crude oil prices have fallen about 50% since mid-2014. Traders, investors, asset owners and energy-intensive manufacturers are seeking a single, consistent, integrated information flow that supports decision-making in today's turbulent oil & gas market.

A new collaboration among seven information suppliers, to be unveiled February 24 at the Global Commodities Market Intelligence Forum in Houston, offers market participants an opportunity to access disparate information streams using a single platform.

"Today, no one information provider can provide a well-respected soup-to-nuts, A-through-Z look at what is happening across the Oil & Gas sector, from rig activity to takeaway capacity, through the up-, mid- and down-stream industries, construction activity and labor availability," said T.J. Braziel, a senior account executive at RigData (Fort Worth, Texas). "That's about to change. We're entering a world that's never been seen before."

The Global Commodities Market Intelligence Forum, which will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on February 24, is being sponsored by:

• IIR Energy
• Interactive Data
• RigData
• TIBCO
• WG Consulting
• ZE Power Group

The forum will showcase a common data platform, to be managed by ZE Power Group, which will allow users to access a broad range of comprehensive, consistent, scrubbed stream of data and market information on every aspect of the Oil & Gas Industry.

"At the forum, we're looking to begin a conversation rather than just deliver a series of PowerPoint presentations," Braziel told IIR Energy. "We want to show potential users that a broad range of vendors can cooperate and collaborate in the service of delivering the preeminent information solution to the oil & gas market. This level of collaboration among competing information providers is not only unusual, it's revolutionary. And it's all being driven by our clients' need for consistent, easily accessed and timely information and models."

"Our goal is to foster collaboration among market participants, and help shed light on the direction of hydrocarbon supply and demand models in the coming years," said Geoffrey Lakings, a market technology analyst at Cargill Incorporated (Minneapolis, Minnesota). Lakings, who will serve as chief moderator at the February 24 event, added: "I am looking forward to participating in this valuable confluence of engaged parties from different industries, in order to address pressing topics confronting the energy market today. I'm sure there is much we can learn through dialoguing with one another about these important trends."

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.